In the Shadow of the Dragon -- Behind the Scenes... (Part Two -- The Characters of the Imperial Court)

 

When I started writing in The Shadow of the Dragon, I had little to work with. I had two canon characters -- Coordinator Yori Kurita and Gunji-no-Kanrei Matsuhari Toranaga. I had the Warlords' names, but their role in the story was nonexistent. I needed to populate the court around Yori. So, in keep with showing behind the scenes, I've decided to give you a glimpse of my thinking behind these characters and why I included them. I'll cover the Order of the Five pillars in another post. There my be spoilers here, so be warned!

Today, its about Yori and the main characters around her.

Coordinator Yori Kurita: She's an important character, Coordinator of the Draconis Combine, and one of the main characters on the novel. She had had some screen time in a couple of novels, but nothing on her in ten-plus years of the universe time beyond sourcebooks outlining her friction with Toranaga. People change in ten years, and Yori has been dropped into a maelstrom of politics, with is pressure in itself.

One of my key thoughts is that Yori was not born to be on the Coordinator's throne -- she was railroaded into the job. She could have sat back, enjoyed the perks of the position and given Toranaga everything he wanted, but she grew up in the world beyond the Imperial Palace. She's aware that the universe is much different than the servants and the ability to have every whim followed. She survived the Galedon Military Academy and the DCMS. When she got a crash course in being a Kurita, her instructors drilled into her head that duty was part of being a Kurita. when it finally hit home and she was on the throne, she realized that sitting back and doing nothing was the last thing she could do. She had no allies, no power base, and if Toranaga wanted her removed, she'd get a nice funeral, a note in the history books and that was it.

So, she has spent the last decade slowly building a power base, bring in allies and work for the best interest of the Combine. She let Toranaga conduct both the wars with the Nova Cats and the Federated Suns because not only because he was the superior strategist, but it kept him occupied while she worked to secure her own position. She is of the mindset of "I didn't want to be Coordinator, but since I'm stuck with it, so I'm going to be the best damn Coordinator I can be!"

She has not granted Toranaga any more units for his Federated Suns offence, with the exception of the Hikage for a simple reason; There are no more units to spare. Only a few DCMS units are left defending the border, and they cannot leave. Training and equipping new units is problematic, between getting the experienced commanders to lead these units, and the production of new equipment, most of which is already needed to replace losses at the Davion front, Creating and training the Hikage was time-consuming and took a lot of resources over months to create the unit -- yes, an elite unit, but only one, when Toranaga needs a dozen more. But to quickly create units would make them paper tigers -- nothing more than ill-trained and ill-equipped units that would be little more than a speed bump in any Davion or Republic offense.

She has stay single for as long as she has for two reason: the first, she doesn't want to give Toranaga any ideas by producing an heir he can exploit. She's well aware that the only reason she's on the throne to start with is because of her blood ties to the main family, through the first Theodore Kurita, her great-grandfather. While it's an illegitimate branch, it is still closer to the main family than most of the other branches. The second reason is that she already knows who she wants: Corbin Foster, Sarah's older brother, who is a Battalion commander in the Second Genyosha on the Davion Front. But both refuse to compromise their duty to be happy together, much to the annoyance of everyone around them.

In the Shadow of the Dragon is Yori's last steps to becoming the Coordinator in word and in deed, but the Combine is still in danger and she must try to regain the balance it needs or become the a victim of its neighbors.

Sarah Foster: Sarah's role is to humanize Yori. She grew up with Yori Sakamoto, knows her better than just about anyone else in the Combine, and has a good chance of becoming Yori's sister-in-law. Yori needs someone who knows her as Yori Sakamoto, who will listen to her vent, give her sound advice when she needs it, and be a friend first and foremost behind closed doors.

 Sarah's also Yori's eyes and ears outside of the palace, and her representative for those meetings Yori can't attend. There are very few people Yori trust completely and Sarah is one of those. She has the world experience that Yori lacked, working in her family business until Yori called for her. She's learned how to operate inside the custom and procedure-bound Palace. yet isn't afraid to be blunt to Yori in private when she needs to be. The Coordinator treasures their friendship, and wants to see her happy.

Sarah's relationship with Justin Imaidegawa is a nebulous one. While they're both part of the small circle of people around Yori, and are attracted to each other, neither one wants to put anything before their duty to the Coordinator, which has vexed Yori to no end, because she wants to see them happy together. But both advisors feel Yori is the priority and any exploration of a relationship between the two of them is somewhere in the future.

In the Shadow of the Dragon is Sarah helping her friend takes those final steps and being ready to sacrifice to see her friend become what the Combine needs -- a strong leader.

Chu-sa Justin Imaidegawa: Yori's Senior military aide. While not a friend of Yori's in the same way Sarah, he is a solid, loyal ally. Like Sarah, he speaks the truth to Yori in private. A combat veteran, the loss of his arm has only slowed him down for a while. The great-grandson of a famous sword-master, Justin is one of the top candidates to be granted the title of kensei (Sword Saint), a group famous for their skill with a blade and their outstanding moral character. 

Several years ago, I wrote a Battlecorps story called A Matter of Honor. In it about an orphan, Jason Collins,  is adopted by the Imaidegawa family and is taught the Path of the Sword by the man who would become his adopted father. Jason's duel with his cousin becomes one of legend, beating his cousin, the man responsible for the loss of Jason's family, with an ironwood bokken against a live blade. When I was casting around for a name for the military aide, Imaidegawa leapt out and it was easy to connect Jason with Justin. If you're reading this in January 2026, the free story on the Catalyst store's website, Honor of the Sword, is about Justin Imaidegawa, set a few months before he becomes the Coordinator's military aide. In addition, I wrote a short story that should be be part of the Force Manuel: Kurita update that covers the Jihad and the Dark Age eras, bridging the gap between Jason Imaidegawa and his great-grandson, Justin.

For Justin, In the Shadow of the Dragon is showing that despite the loss of a hand, he is still as much a warrior now as he was before his wounds.

Tai-i Jasmine Taeko: To describe the head of the Coordinator's person protection detail in a few words, it would be "Elemental size, Samurai mentality." Her loyalty to Yori is complete and unshakable Ypori saved her life and the lives of her squad during a battle before Yori become Coordinator. To her, protecting Yori is her duty, and she is takes the job seriously. She will sometimes accompany Sarah to meetings, her presence is not only to protect Sarah, but to let the other other party know Yori is taking this meeting seriously. She carries a LMG as a rifle, and her daishō is sized to her, giving her incredible reach and she is skilled with them. She is also blunt and speaks her mind.

I wanted a named bodyguard for Yori, and the idea of an Elemental-sized Samurai come to me. Takeo established her place in the story and refused to be moved from it. Her role is be the loyal bodyguard, ready to give her life for her lord.

Kai Nihari: A neat, compact man with a shaved head who serves as the Coordinator's personal secretary. He's respectful, but hides a spine of steel under those polite words of his, with the ability to take action if necessary. He blends into the background and people forget he's there -- which is the way be wants it to be. He's a small twist on the story, a surprise that only shows up when he's needed.

To be honest, I'm not sure what Kai is. He is clearly skilled in a number of areas, including some a secretary shouldn't be. He's part of an agreement Franklin Sakomoto with Kai's superiors years ago, and now that agreement is being filled by Kai. Making him a Nekokami is a bit of a cop-out in my opinion, but he is well-trained and could probably take on one of those, if he needed to.

Gunji-no-Kanrei Matsuhari Toranaga: The man leading the attack on the Federated Suns has been very successful, but he's running into a problem; He needs more units to sustain the offence.

He has already committed crimes in the name of the Combine that, if discovered, would have him executed. He removed the reigning Coordinator and his entire family, replacing him with someone he sees as more pliable, in Yori. Now, in 3150, he is unable to continue the offensive, and must hang onto the gains the DCMS has made. But he knows if he gives Julian Davion and the AFFS time to rebuild their forces, they will push the Kurita forces back. He sees this assassination against Yori as a way to buy more time for his own plans.

But he is so consumed with with winning this war he is failing to realize several things: the first is that the Combine is overextended and can barely hold on to what it has already taken from the Federated Suns. He need soldiers to continue the offense, to free up front-line units. He doesn't want to give ground anywhere on the front, especially New Avalon.

The second is that he failed to realize until it was too late Yori is no longer a figurehead, but has become the Coordinator in more than name. By the time he has fully realized this, he can't do anything abut it. The assassination attempt was his chance to push back the clock, take the Kurtia heir the Juunishi have and become the power behind the throne again. When the attempt fails, and he's nearly killed himself, he realizes his authority had greatly diminished.

And third, he never considers the possibility that Kaiken is lying to him, which the assassin is. Toranaga fails to realize that the Juunishi see him as a threat to their plans -- the Gunji-no-Kanrei has full control over the Combine military, and if Toranaga decides the Juunishi are a threat to him, he has resources the Juunishi don't.

Matsuhari Toranaga is a practical man, a ruthless man, but one that is blinded by his need to destroy his enemy. In the novel, despite not having much screen time, he is not the same man as he was before the start of the Novel.

I think that's enough for now. Any questions, let me know either in the comments or though the Battletech Forums. Do you want to know more about these characters? Let me know!

Craig